After the Invasion
by QueenofLegends
Summary: While the Team are recovering from Wally's death, they get thrust into another mission as the Red Hood, Anarky, Talia al Ghul and Ravager wreak havoc, meeting new heroes along the way. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen recruits Superboy and Supergirl to help him discover the true identity of Lex Luthor's new niece.
1. Prologue

"So," Lois smiled at the girl. "You're Mr Luthor's niece?" The girl looked nervous but nodded.

"I…yes, that's right." She answered.

"So Lena's your mom? She always stated that Lori was an only child."

"Yes, well it's a complicated story. My father accused my mom of cheating on him."

"Because you look nothing like either of them?"

"Yes. It caused quite a lot of controversy as you can imagine. Uncle Lex helped hide it but those who knew, family, business partners and a few others, didn't like it. They agreed to stay quiet but insisted that something was done. I was sent away to distant cousins on my grandmother's side and was raised by them."

"I see… That makes sense, I guess. What caused you to come here?"

"My Uncle named me as his heir. He wants me to take over Lexcorp when the time comes."

"Why choose you, not Lori?"

"Hell if I know!" The girl looked furious now, her eyes almost red with anger but Lois didn't back off.

"But Lori's the elder is she not? And with all the controversy regarding your parentage…?" The girl interrupted her.

"This interview is over, Miss Lane!" She snapped as she turned and stalked out the room. Lois didn't follow her. She would leave the girl alone for now but she would have to do some digging later. It had raised her suspicions as soon as Lex introduced his niece to the populous. The girl's appearance not only looked nothing like Lex or Lena but she looked almost otherworldly. Her skin was so pale, she didn't really look alive. Her hair was too perfect and a very pure black, reminding Lois of a witch or the child of a devil. Her eyes were colourless, a pure black and she could swear that she could see no sign of a soul in them. And then there was her pet cat. A ginger molly, it sat in her arms and just stared. She knew something was up. It had to be. She was with Luthor after all.

* * *

Klara stormed into the office her uncle had provided for her, ignoring the woman assigned to be her bodyguard but not her cat. As she sat down, it jumped into her lap and she absentmindedly started stroking it, still fuming. "Klara? Is something wrong?"

"We have to do something about that woman, Talia!" she snapped. Talia al Ghul smiled slightly.

"What can we do? If we get Lex to step in, she'll become even more suspicious. And she's Superman's girlfriend so that rules out any…criminal methods. Face it, Klara. It's just one woman. As long as only one suspects something is up, we'll be fine. Just please try not to lose your temper again." Klara smirked.

"I'll see what I can do."


	2. Chapter 1

The phone rang. He almost didn't pick it up. Wanted to let it go on to the answering machine. But something made him do it. "Yes?"

 _"_ _HI Dick, I heard about Wally. I'm really sorry."_ Jimmy Olsen, photographer at the Daily Planet and one of Dick's oldest friends. " _I would have called earlier but Perry had us working to the bone on a special issue. That's one of my reasons for calling actually."_

"You want something, don't you?" He sighed.

 _"_ _Kind of."_ He sounded almost offended but Dick could hear the guilt in his voice. He had hit the nail on the head. _"I'm coming to Bludhaven Saturday. I'll drop by and we can talk more about Wally. But I need a favour. Could you ask Connor to meet Linda and me at the Daily Planet? We need his help with something."_ Now that piqued his interest. Why would Jimmy need to ask for Connor's help?

"What kind of something?"

" _Ok, here's the deal. Lex has a new niece, Klara I think, who's come to live with him here in Metropolis. No one's ever heard of her before. We think something's up. "_

 _"_ So why Connor?"

" _I'm not going to drag you into something when you're still getting over Wally. Connor's the only one Linda trusts, for obvious reasons."_ Dick smiled slightly. Leave it to Jimmy to make him smile without even trying to.

"I'll see what I can do and let you know his answer, ok?"

" _Fine by me."_

* * *

"Karen, Mal, I'm glad you two are here." The two superheroes turned to see Professor Palmer next to a young Asian woman wearing a blue summer dress with a red ribbon and a lab coat over it. "This is Doctor Raina Choi, she's my new assistant."

"Miss Beecher, Mr Duncan, it's a pleasure to meet you." The woman, or Raina, smiled at them.

"Professor, she…knows our names?" Karen protested.

"And superhero identities?" Mal added. Ray chuckled.

"It's ok. We can trust her. She's already passed Batman's checks and we've been in correspondence for quite a while before she came here."

"Well, it Batman says it's okay…" Mal shrugged. "Nice to meet you, Raina."

"And with that, I leave her with you." Ray said. "Deathstroke has already tried to kill her once. If she's a threat to the Light then we have to protect her. So I'm leaving her in your care until we're sure she's safe."

"Um, that's information that should be mentioned first, Professor." Karen sighed. "But we can protect her, no problem."

"Thank you." Raina said, gratefully as Ray left. "I will try not to be much of a burden."

* * *

"It's been a long time, Mr Harper." Roy whirled around, notching an arrow in his bow.

"Artemis, what are you doing sneaking up on me like that? I could have shot you." Artemis laughed.

"You could try but you couldn't hit me. How's Lian?"

"She's doing well. She's staying with Jade at the moment."

"Good. Because we need your help."

"With what?"

"We're holding an intervention. To get Nightwing back in the game."

"Why not let him come back on his own? He's still mourning Wally. Give him time."

"I wish we could. There's been an attack in Gotham. Batman's asked us to look into it. With Batgirl still recovering from her accident, we need someone else who knows Gotham and Batman's rogue gallery well."

"What about Robin?"

"There are some villains he's not dealt with, most of them are suspected to be involved."

"I see. Ok, I'm in."


	3. Chapter 2

"How'd you get past security?" Klara smiled. She had been about to go to bed so she was wearing a black, silk nightgown. "My uncle's guards are no pushover." The man behind her smirked.

"Give me more credit, darling. I was able to escape from Belle Reve twice, you know." She laughed.

"With our help. And please don't call me 'darling', Junior." Icicle Jr shrugged.

"Can't help it, beautiful. You look divine tonight."

"Pervert." She muttered but turned to face him. "Down to business then. What's the situation?" He sighed.

"Relax, baby. Why must it always be business with you all the time?"

"Dispense with the flirting, Cameron lest you forget who I am." She snapped, glaring at him. "Situation. Now."

"Fine, fine. I've talked to Bee, Darkseid won't be making his move any time soon. We're safe on that front. The Gotham situation is going as planned, no problems yet."

"And what about Deathstroke?"

"He's yet to take out Dr Choi. And actually, she's now in the care of the heroes."

"That shouldn't pose a problem. She is no danger until she reaches her full potential." Junior went to leave via the door behind her. "Cameron." She stopped him, turning round to look at him as he did the same. "You're not scared of me. Why?"

"Why should I be?" Cameron shrugged. "You're not the monster everyone else thinks you are. That _you_ think you are." He turned to left as she stared after him, quite surprised. Talia moved out of the darkness to stand by her.

"You should get going, Talia." She reminded. "You wouldn't want to be late to the intervention, would you?"

* * *

Dick sighed as he put his mask on. Kaldur had asked him to meet the team in costume on a nearby rooftop. The only reason he was going was because Connor was going to be there and he had promised Jimmy to ask him to help in Metropolis. Ready to go, he jumped across the rooftop to his destination. He was expecting to see Kaldur, Connor, Megan, Artemis, Tim and Bart. He wasn't expecting to see Red Arrow, Zatanna or… "Selina?" Catwoman smiled, kindly.

"Tim asked me to come. We're worried about you."

"Worried? Why?"

"We think…" Artemis paused, wondering how to word it. "We think you're being swallowed by your grief."

"We know you miss Wally." Connor added. "We all do. But you can't shut yourself off from us like this."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Dick argued. "I'm not shutting myself off from anyone!"

"Then come back to the team." Megan interrupted. "We only want to help."

"People deal with grief in their own ways." He took a deep breath, calming himself down slightly. "I'll be back soon. I'm just unable to deal with it right now."

"I'm afraid we can't wait that long." Kaldur replied. "There's a crisis in Gotham and we can't solve it without you."

"Well, you'll have to!" Dick snapped. "Because I can't cope with crimefighting right now!"

"That is a pity." A voice purred. The others parted to see Talia smirking slightly. "I did so want you to meet the Red Hood. After all, I brought him back specially." She drew her sword and immediately parried Catwoman's claws, knocking her back. Tim and Dick ran to her side, giving Talia time to get away as the others were still frozen with shock.

"An unexpected appearance from Ra's heir." Selina pondered as she was helped up. "I wonder what she meant."

"That's for you to find out." Dick answered, turning away to go back to his apartment. "I'll return to the team when I'm ready. Don't bother me until then."

"Dick!" Roy protested. "I understand you not coming back but you can at least try and talk to us! We can help!"

"At least talk it through with Canary." Connor added. Dick turned round, sighing.

"I know you're only trying to help. But…just give me a little more time, ok?" After a short pause, the others nodded understanding that they weren't going to get him back this way. "And Connor, you should go to Metropolis. Jimmy and Supergirl need your help."


	4. Chapter 3

"Barbara…" Barbara looked up from her hospital bed and grinned.

"Selina, how'd it go?" Selina smiled warmly as she sat in the chair beside the bed.

"Hard to say. He didn't agree to come back to the team but…" She was interrupted by Barbara groaning in frustration. "I know, I know but Wally's death hit him hard. You know that. But he has accepted that we're there for him if he needs it. That was the silver lining in all of this." Barbara nodded, deep in thought and Selina took her hand and squeezed it gently. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been given enough painkillers to nullify the pain from the bullet wound but I can't feel my legs so good news and bad news." She sighed. "I guess I can't be Batgirl anymore."

"Don't say that." Selina chided softly. "Sure, you may not be able to personally fight crime anymore but I'm sure you can find another way to help the Team." Barbara laughed bitterly.

"If you say so." She shook her head. "Just promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Whatever happens to me, keep him safe."

"Always."

* * *

Connor walked up to the building, half-wishing he'd never agreed to come here. But Dick had said that they needed his help so he couldn't _not_ come. He had met Kara about four years ago when Superman had insisted on introducing him to his new cousin. She was new to crime fighting only stepping in to fight the two-bit crooks that Superman had no time for. She still had a lot to work on back then. They weren't exactly family just yet but they trusted each other and she liked it when he stopped by the Daily Planet to see her and Clark where she worked as a junior reporter. She had offered to put in a good word for him with Perry if he wanted a job but he had declined, wanting to stay in Happy Harbour. It was on one of his visits to the Planet that he had met Jimmy. She had been working on an article with him when Connor dropped by to see her and she had introduced them. The two of them had made conversation when she had to consult Lois about something but, although they seemed to get along, they hadn't seen each other since. This would be the first time since that day. His attention was drawn back to the building as they walked out. Kara, in her civilian identity as Linda Danvers, was wearing a white blouse and black skirt with her usual black wig and black framed glasses. Jimmy didn't look as smart as she did, wearing a green shirt and black bowtie with a brown jacket, but somehow he still looked like a professional. But that could be the expensive digital camera around his neck. "Connor, you came!" Linda looked pleased, as if she wasn't sure he'd come. "How've you been?" Connor smiled, wryly.

"Had a difficult last few months." That was all he was going to say. Maybe he would explain everything to her afterwards but not now.

"Oh, yeah with the Reach and everything! Sorry, completely forgot!"

"Yeah. I was told you needed my help?" It was Jimmy who took the lead in answering.

"Here's the deal." He handed him a picture of Lex Luthor with a girl who looked quite familiar. Not to mention creepy. "Klara Bleak. Nineteen years old and claims to be Luthor's niece. With a convoluted backstory to match. Now, she lives with him and accompanies him on business trips. She even has her own office in Lexcorp and a bodyguard."

"So what's the issue?"

"Apart from the fact that it's Luthor we're dealing with?" Jimmy replied.

"There is no way in hell that demon spawn is Luthor's niece!" Linda interrupted. Connor and Jimmy exchanged glances. She was really fired up about this. "His sister's a decent human being, even with his influence she couldn't produce something that…urgh!" she shivered. Connor shrugged.

"So why do you need me? Surely you two can investigate on your own?" he questioned.

"Sure, we could…" Linda begun. Jimmy rolled his eyes, sighing.

"She thinks we're gonna have to split up on this one but she doesn't trust me alone."

"That's not the only reason!" she protested. "Three heads are better than two! Plus this is big. I can feel it." Connor was silent for a moment, thinking deeply.

"You know Jimmy, I really don't know you all that well." He said finally. Jimmy smirked.

"I could say the same about you. " He replied. "Now's the perfect time for us to get to know each other."

* * *

Fifteen year old Kyle Rayner was in detention for doodling on his schoolwork. Thankfully the teacher overseeing him happened to be the laziest teacher in the school and instead of watching him, he was on Facebook. So he was drawing the teacher. He couldn't help it, he loved drawing. It was his dream to become a comic artist when he left school. He was just finishing the right eye when a bright light drew his eyes to the window. He jumped out his chair in shock as a green glowing orb flew straight towards him. It stopped just in front of him and he could make out a green ring like… " _Kyle Rayner of Earth. You have been chosen."_


	5. Chapter 4

The evening after the so-called intervention, Dick was still thinking about Talia's words and what they could mean. His mind kept coming back to the possibility that the 'Red Hood' she had mentioned, was someone he knew, someone she had resurrected. Naturally, his first thought was Wally. But that was impossible. The Lazarus Pit needed a body and Wally had been vaporised and didn't leave one. The grave marked by his tombstone was empty. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft thump in the hall. It was so low that anyone else wouldn't have heard it but having been trained by Batman, he did. Grabbing one of his escrima sticks, he crept slowly out into the hallway. The next thing he knew he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head before he fell into blackness.

He awoke tied to a post in an old, rundown and naturally abandoned warehouse. He groaned as his vision blurred and his head throbbed. "So you're finally awake, are you?" a voice broke through the silence and he could make out a clear mocking tone to it. As his eyes focussed, he saw a figure wearing a black leather jacket and a red hood approaching him. "Maybe I hit you a little too hard." He chucked as he bent down to study his captive. "Now I know a thousand questions must be running through your mind. Who am I? Where are you? What do I want with you? How did I get into your apartment?" He laughed again as he stood back up. "But you are a protégé of the old man so the question on the forefront of your mind would be…how are you going to take me out?" Dick's eyes widened. How did this guy know he was trained by Batman? Sure, if he was in costume it was easy to figure out but he wasn't. He and Bruce had made sure there was no way to connect either of them with Batman. Were they compromised? Had his secret identity been leaked somehow? Then it clicked.

"You're the Red Hood." The one Talia had dropped the hint about.

"So you've heard of me." His captor sounded amused. "I'm surprised. You haven't been keeping up with the criminal underworld lately, have you?" This was bad. It was obvious the Red Hood knew way too much about him. "You're lost for words." The Red Hood observed. "The Bat never taught you what to do if your identity was discovered, I see."

"Who are you?" Dick spat. The Red Hood shook his head.

"Not yet. Patience, boy wonder. You'll find out soon enough. But I'm feeling generous so I'll answer one of your other questions." He chuckled again. "How about why I abducted you? The answer may take a while but it's worth it." Again, he bent down but this time he seemed to look him in the eye. "As you may have guessed, I know you and your precious mentor _intimately_." He reached up to stroke Dick's cheek. He tore himself away from the other's touch in disgust though this seemed to just amuse him. "To be honest, I just wanted to let you know that you weren't safe anymore. You don't have a secret identity to hide behind anymore. At least, not from me. I haven't told anyone else. I want you all to myself." Dick glared at him. The guy was such a creep. What was worse is that he seemed to know everything about him yet Dick knew next to nothing about him. Though his way of speaking seemed kind of familiar. The Red Hood laughed, looking down at the ground before looking back up at him. "And seeing you helpless and vulnerable was too good to miss. I'm never going to get this chance again, am I?" He took out a twisted knife and reached forward, cutting the rope that bound Dick's hands behind the post. It all happened in an instant. Dick lunged for him, the Red Hood dropped the knife and before he could process what happened the Red Hood had him pinned to the post with a gun against his head. "Don't push your luck, bird boy. I could've kept you here out of the way, made sure you couldn't interfere. I'm being nice. I'm letting you go. Don't make me regret it." He pushed Dick to the ground and walked out. Dick just stared at his retreating back, trying to calm himself before attempting to get home.

* * *

Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris were flying back from a mission fighting the Sinestro Corps. They had won but it had been a difficult fight. Thankfully, the Guardians had agreed for Hal and John to swap places for a while so the two of them were going back to Earth together rather than Carol leaving on her own as she always did. She was happy that they would be able to spend time together again. She'd missed him. Sure, they fought side-by-side frequently but it wasn't the same as Hal taking her out to dinner or kissing him in the rain. As they approached the ground in front of the ruined Hall of Justice, she noticed a teenaged boy standing near them shivering in the cold. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. He looked up at the two of them and pulled up the sleeve of his coat revealing a Green Lantern ring. The two of them landed slowly and Hal walked closer to get a better look at the ring as if to confirm it.

"The Guardians didn't tell me there was to be a new Lantern on Earth." He mentioned, softly. "Why didn't they tell me?

"Does it matter?" she answered as they both studied the boy. He looked Hispanic; black hair, green eyes and a tan skin tone. He looked quite cute although that could be because he was blushing, both because of the cold and of embarrassment. "It's happened and you know what we need to do." Hal nodded.

"What's your name?" he asked the boy.

"Kyle." The answer came, shy but confident. "Kyle Rayner." She smiled kindly at him but her eyes widened in shock as Hal's Green Lantern costume faded to reveal his civilian clothes.

"I'm Hal Jordan." He said. It was then that it clicked. His true intention was to gain trust in what would eventually be their ally.

"Carol Ferris." She added as she dropped her Star Sapphire attire.

"Don't worry." Hal smiled. "We'll teach you how to use that ring."

 **A/N: I was trying to write this story without making any shipping subtext pure text. As you can tell, I failed. If the Red Hood's behaviour towards Dick ruins the story for you or makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, just assume he behaved that way to freak him out. That interpretation is equally as possible as him actually being attracted to Nightwing, seeing as I don't know if I'm going to put much ship tease between the two in later chapters. They're definitely not going to become a couple, I know that for certain.**


	6. Chapter 5

"So Raina…" Mal started, knowing how awkward the situation. "How long have you known Professor Palmer?"

"About four years." She answered. "He came to talk at my university and when I went to ask him a few questions afterwards, I guess my questions interested him and he gave me his email. And since then we've been in contact. He even asked me to send him my essays so he could look over them."

"So did he invite you to be his assistant when you finished your doctorate?" Karen asked, a tinge of jealousy creeping into her voice.

"That's right." Raina nodded, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not going to replace you, don't worry. He's my boss not my mentor. He may see _something_ in me but I doubt I'll take his attention away from you."

"That's not…" Karen stuttered. Raina smiled.

"Nothing's going to change. I promise. He doesn't care about me that much." Karen grew silent. She didn't like it. Didn't like _her_. She was too nice. Too intelligent. Too beautiful. Too perfect. She didn't trust anyone that perfect. Maybe she was like Queen Bee. Maybe she had the ability to make everyone she spoke to love her.

"Um, when did you find out that he was the Atom?" she asked.

"That was just a few days ago actually. When Deathstroke first attacked me, the Atom saved me then removed his mask."

"Why?"

"I was terrified." Raina answered, her smile gone and her expression serious. "Someone had just tried to kill me. I couldn't even see straight. He had to calm me down somehow."

"Right…" Karen smirked inwardly. She had just contradicted herself. If the Professor didn't care about her, he wouldn't have revealed his identity to her just to calm her down. She was right. Raina was the perfect assistant. And that made her suspicious.

"That's a nice necklace you're wearing." Mal said suddenly, hoping to dispel the tension that had suddenly covered the room.

"Oh, this?" Raina smiled again, putting a hand on said necklace. It was a pretty thing with a narrow gold chain and quite a large stone hanging from it, a blend of red and blue like a rainbow yin yang. "It's handmade. An experiment, you might say."

* * *

 _"_ _So Klara, what's it like living with your Uncle?"_

Connor peered round the corner before motioning to Jimmy that it was safe to continue. Kara was keeping Lex's niece busy with an interview and with Luthor at Lexcorp, the only people they had to avoid was the mansion security.

 _"_ _It's quiet. Uncle Lex is away all the time so I'm often on my own."_

Arriving at Klara's bedroom, they tried the door to find it locked. "Of course." Connor groaned. "Lex is so paranoid, he would have locks on the bedroom doors. The only way we can get in is by using my strength and that's out of the question."

"Don't be so sure." Jimmy smirked as his companion gave him a questioning look. He took out a couple of paperclips. "Lois taught me how to pick locks.

 _"_ _You must be lonely."_

"How do you know how to pick locks?" Connor folded his arms as he watched.

"I told you, Lois taught me."

"How does _she_ know?" Jimmy grinned

"What, you think she gets her stories just by talking to people?"

 _"_ _Not really. I get quite a few visitors."_

There was a click as the lock gave way and the two entered making sure to close the door behind them so as not to cause suspicion if someone happened to walk past. They each went to different sides of the room and began searching for anything strange.

 _"_ _Really? Such as?"_

"Here's something." Connor picked up a heavy book with a black leather cover from the bookcase as Jimmy rushed over.

"It looks like a…spellbook." He commented.

"Why would she have a spellbook?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged but took a few pictures of the book and its contents. They couldn't take anything out obviously but the pictures would do just fine for their intended purpose.

 _"_ _Reporters like you for instance Miss Danvers. Everyone wants to know my life story. Not that I blame them considering who my uncle is. And I have friends from before I moved here. Uncle Lex lets them visit me. After thorough background checks of course."_

"Hey." Jimmy reached up and got a paper off the top of the wardrobe. "This is her birth certificate. And that does not look like Lex's sister to me."

"What?" Connor came up to look.

 _"_ _Haha. Naturally. There've been attempts on his life before. He wants to keep you safe."_

"You're kidding me. Klara's actually Luthor's daughter?" Connor exclaimed, hardly believing it.

"With Queen Bee." Jimmy sighed. "Looks like it. It does explain a lot though. Why she appeared out of nowhere…"

"Yeah, she was in Biyala the whole time. And her whole demeanor."

"She inherited a lot from her mother, it seems."

 _"_ _Indeed. I apologise, Miss Danvers. I should get going. I have another engagement to attend. Shall I show you to the door?"_

Linda nodded, standing up and following her downstairs. She hoped the boys had found what they were looking for. And more importantly, that they had gotten out…

* * *

"Finally some action!" Impulse grinned, running alongside his best friend.

"Slow down, hermano." Blue Beetle sighed. "This is a reconnaissance mission, remember? Check out the situation and don't engage."

"I know, I know. But it won't stay that way for long. Our team doesn't have much luck with recon missions." Suddenly, as if to demonstrate his point, the first floor of the building they were beside blew up. "See? Come on! Let's check it out!"

"What happened to slowing down?" Jaime groaned, following his friend as he zoomed into the building. He looked around as he entered, landing on the ground. The ground floor looked strangely untouched although you could clearly see the top of the stairs blown to bits. Leaning on the reception desk was a boy, about 14 or 15 judging by his height, wearing a red hoodie with a large anarchy symbols sprayed on in white paint and a white mask. "Are you the one who did this?" he demanded. The kid just laughed.

"The men working on that floor were corrupt. They steal from the donations this company collects for the homeless every month."

"Hey! That doesn't make this right!" Bart protested.

"No one's working here this late. It's completely deserted. I blew up the floor as a warning. The next time they steal from the homeless, it'll be them."

"How old are you?" Jaime asked. "14? 15? Does your mom know you're doing this?" He could practically see the boy grin under his mask.

"Sure she does. She'd help if she wasn't so busy robbing banks with a hammer."

"What?" Bart sounded as dumbfounded as Jaime felt.

"Hey!" A high-pitched female voice screeched. "Are you boys messing with my Lonnie?"


End file.
